Mine disasters prove costly

CHINA’S main coal-producing province has tripled the amount that mines must pay families of miners killed on the job, in an effort to encourage management to spend more on safety.
Mines in Shanxi Province must now pay 200,000 yuan (US$24,000) for each miner killed. It was three times the current average in Shanxi.
Flooding, fires and other accidents are often reported in China’s coal mines, with at least 5,286 coal mine deaths from January to November.